Epic Christmas Adventures Part 2, Winnipeg

We flew into Winnipeg on December 21st, and arrived just after midnight. It wasn't THAT cold.... But still cold enough for SNOW! YAY!!

After a day and a bit of lazing around, Jeremy and I, along with his sisters, Tamara and Natasha, ventured out to see a movie. We had decided beforehand that we'd see Night at the Museum together, and we weren't disappointed! It was entertaining and we had a great time!!

Feeling the lack of any physical activity combined with indulging too many holiday treats, Jeremy and I decided to go for a walk when we got home from the movie. There was a pretty fantastic house not too far from his that we wanted to get a picture of.
This picture doesn't quite do the insane, over the top, decorating justice- but I liked that you can see my frosty breath!! I also like the eerie effect the glowing red Santa creates in the upper right hand corner. I also have a fondness for Christmas light pictures that turn out like this:

On the way home we happened upon
an opportunity that I seldom find......

A chance to practice my slam dunk!!!





Christmas eve was a day of trains! We went for a nice walk in the afternoon, and happened upon these photo opportunities......

This was another fun picture....... (even though it's not really part of the train theme)

Christmas eve night we all piled into the car (3 in the front, 3 in the back) and made our way to where we were about to have THE COOLEST MINI TRAIN RIDE EVER!!!!!

With Christmas music playing in the background, we wandered through the forest- all lit up, and made our way to the ultimate toy train. We waited in line, and boarded our train (17 of us in total, sitting single file, and ALL ADULTS!! Hahaha- I think we were excited enough that we all looked like a bunch of kids!!

Here's one of Jeremy and I. Can you tell we're feeling just a bit nutty?!!

And here's one looking backwards on our train:

These are 2 that Natasha took during our train ride. Aren't they awesome?!

And last but not least, here's a bike on our way back to the car:

Christmas morning was nice and relaxing. We all enjoyed some good laughs while opening up gifts.

I had 2 stockings!!

(you also can't miss the hot pink, polar bear pj's...... a Christmas eve surprise from Jeremy!!!)
Jeremy got some sexy new sweat pants from Roots. This picture makes me laugh SO HARD!!! Especially with his kick ass (err, karate donkey) t-shirt..... Here's one of me opening a beautiful scarf from Tamara.
And here is perhaps one of the most important gifts Jeremy got. Because sometimes you just don't know what is really dangerous.........

It's filled with tons of valuable lessons like:

and,

The rest of our day was filled with family, food and fun, as was most of our time in Winnipeg. We laughed, we played (Pictionary, bingo, scattergories, and cribbage). We rode trains and walked in the park. And we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our Christmas in Winnipeg.

The End.

Epic Christmas Adventures Part 1, Toronto

When you live in an apartment the size of a garage, you have to learn to improvise. We (or more accurately, I) desperately wanted a Christmas tree this year- which obviously brings up the issue of space- of which we have very limited quantities. Desperate times require desperate measures, and to have a Christmas tree was of dire importance. So, with 5 minutes and a pack of markers, our first Christmas tree was created!

The only thing that would make this tree complete was presents- which arrived the same day! Packed not in a red, velvet bag, but instead in a gorgeous red suitcase, our presents arrived safe and sound from Calgary. I dove in, and discovered japanese mandarins and a delicious fruit cake packed in with care. YUM! All that was left was to put the gifts under our fantastic new tree. Luckily we only had to wait a few days before we were able to open all of the presents!!


I spent the day cleaning and shopping for a strand of lights. Do you know how hard it was to find Christmas lights a few days before Christmas?! I searched everywhere, and finally found a few packs at the Shoppers Drug Mart 2 minutes from our place!! A strand of fun snowflake lights lit up the couch, and some coloured bulbs provided cheery colour.





The Christmas lights were lit and the

stockings were filled and 'hung'. Now all we had to wait for was the highly anticipated phone call from Calgary!




The phone finally rang and Christmas in Toronto could officially begin. Jeremy and I, along with our good friend Christopher, all took turns talking with my Mom, Dad, Sister and her boyfriend, while we opened up the gifts!!

As you can already tell, much fun and laughter occurred during the course of our long-distance Christmas phone call extravaganza. If you have to spend Christmas away from your family, this is the way to do it!!!
After our long and wonderful conversation, Christmas wishes, and long distance kisses and hugs, it was time to say "Good-bye". I didn't want to.... I couldn't hang up.... I missed my family so much! It was so hard to let them go! I put the phone down on the receiver and could feel the emptiness and sadness closing in.... Something had to be done- and quick!!! The fantastic atmosphere couldn't turn sad now!!! There was only one thing that could save the evening......

CHRISTMAS FASHION SHOW!!!!!

Jeremy modeling his new shirt and tie from my parents
And now holding up my present to him- "Hotter than I should be" of which the $$ spent on it goes toward the WWF campaign for climate change!
saveourclimate.ca

A new fun scarf from my Mom and Dad

My favourite new comfy shirt and new grey sweat pants from Lululemon....

Thank You!!!

Jeremy playing with his new Henckel knife set
Thank you Santa!!!

Thank goodness that Jeremy gets the gift of 'Danger Knowledge' in Winnipeg!!

With a stylish hat and mitt combo like this, there's only one place to go.....


WINNIPEG


Read about our adventures in Winnipeg....
coming soon

A nice thought

As I was going to teach the other day, I noticed a sign with a message so nice that I wanted to share it with all of you as well.

The Past is behind us,
The Future is yet to come,
Today is a gift-
And that is why it is called the Present.

Mandarin Orange Memories

They're sweet, round, juicy, the perfect size and easy to peel. They are often found in the bottom of a Christmas stocking, tenderly packed in with the hope for some vitamins to be consumed along with all of the chocolate!! They are great for packed lunches (again, the easy to peel factor) and are a constant source of amusement for children of all ages who enjoy the challenge of peeling it off in one whole piece, or making various fun shapes- my personal favourite being the elephant!

The fancy box they arrive in herald the beginning of a new holiday season. It also reminds us that there are limited weekends left until fancy boxes of another type are due to be carefully wrapped and precisely placed under a glimmering Christmas tree. They are the perfect evening snack, delicately unwrapped and enjoyed in almost silence- serenaded only by the sounds of the Christmas tree lights blinking on and off. Under the perfect circumstances you can even hear the unmistakable sounds of ornaments clinking together announcing that someone (or something!!) is investigating certain shiny packages.

Sugary sweet, they're the obvious solution for an early morning snack while you wait for everyone to FINALLY wake up so the chaos of stockings and presents can begin. They're equally as fabulous when enjoyed as a mid-afternoon chocolate crash fix. Perhaps one of the best things about them is how easy it is to peel all of that icky white stuff off of them!!

Ah, the mandarin orange. So decadent, because really, how many other fruits are there that you get to unwrap before you even get to the peeling parts?







- a brief aside- Does anyone know if japanese mandarins are available anywhere in Toronto?? All I can ever find are the chinese mandarins, or clementines. Also- isn't it funny how peel and unpeel are both used to describe the same action??

Time for some vitamin c. and sleep.

It's raining, it's pouring, I wish that it was snowing

Well, December 1st and it is POURING rain outside. This weather is not condusive to grocery shopping, doing laundry (I have to go outside) or any other task that I really actually need to do. What it is good for is blogging, knitting, t.v. vegging, sleeping in until noon, and eating too many cookies. I would add practicing to my list, but I have quite the cold right now, so I am procrastinating practicing as well. Other things I could be doing inside include dishes, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom and dusting. But frankly, if I'm not practicing, those things probably aren't going to get done either!!!

Also, being the Alberta girl that I am, I have to say that December is for SNOW. NOT rain. I have new winter boots, that are waterproof, but I think snow waterproof and rain waterproof are two very different things, so I'm a bit nervous to wear them out in the pouring rain. I saw a fancy pair of rubber boots the other day- a nice charcoal grey on the foot part, with some brown/grey tweed material up the leg. Very nice. I never thought I would be considering investing in a pair of rubber boots in December.